Stocking inspection device having illuminating and magnifying means



Oct. 25, 1949. H. GILBERT STOCKING INSPECTION DEVICE HAVING ILLUMINATINGAND MAGNIFYING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1945 I 7Vl E/V TORHENRY G/LBERT H. GILBERT STOCKING INSPECTION DEVICE HAVING ILLUMINATINGOct. 25, 1949.

AND MAGNIFYING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1945 5 m 5 7% W 2M2HP m; Mm N y J/ EGO wtw mmww E H. K 2 W &

Patented Oct. 25, 1949 STOCKING INSPECTION DEVICE HAVIN G ILLUMINATINGAND MAGNIFYING MEANS Henry Gilbert, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor,by mesne assignments, to Gotham Hosiery Company, Inc., New York, N. Y.,a corporation of Delaware Application December 29, 1945, Serial No.638,255

7 Claims.

This invention relates generally to textile inspecting apparatus forassisting in the inspection of various textile materials andparticularly to a device for facilitating the inspection of hosiery.

It is a well established fact that hosiery made from delicate silk,rayon and nylon threads are subject to imperfections which sometimesoccur during their manufacture or when later subjected to rough handlingby sales personnel or a wearer of the hosiery. After hosiery has beenknit and processed it is usually inspected at the mill to determine thequality thereof, hosiery having slight imperfections being segregatedfrom those of perfect quality and labeled irregulars. The first qualityhosiery is usually guaranteed by the mill and retail store to withstandordinary wear when properly laundered and cared for by the purchaser. Ifoften happens that the customers fail to follow the launderinginstructions and other suggestions made by the manufacturer and fail toexercise proper care of the hosiery, with the result that small holes,runs, and other imperfections occur in the delicately knit fabric. Suchdamaged hosiery is often returned to the store for replacement and itbecomes necessary for the store personnel to first determine the extentand apparent cause of such damage to aid them in deciding whether or notsuch hosiery should be replaced in accordance with the manufacturersguarantee.

While various inspection devices are employed in the mill, no such meansare used in the stores, it being the usual practice to slide the hosieryover a hand to inspect the damaged portion. It is generally concededthat this method of inspecting hosiery is inefiicient since it isimpossible to positively determine whether runs or holes are due to theimproper looping of the threads during the knitting operation or tobreaking of the individual filaments of the hosiery by the wearer.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a textile inspectingdevice, especially adapted for use in retail stores, for facilitatinginspection of hosiery to determine the extent of and aid in establishingthe cause of imperfections in such hosiery.

Another object is to provide a device of the type indicated comprising arotatable light-pervious hosiery form or support upon which a stockingmay be slid, a light source within the support for illuminating thestocking, and a magnifying lens movable along the length of the 2support to enlarge the filaments of the stocking fabric and permit themto be inspected.

Another object is to provide a device of the type indicated which may befastened to a sales counter or the like or made as a portable unitcapable of being moved to any desired location.

Another object is to provide a device of the type indicated in which therotatable stocking support is pivotally mounted on a base to adapt it tobe tilted upwardly to vertical position, thereby permitting the use ofsubstantially the entire area of the sales counter when the apparatus isnot in use.

Another object is to provide a device of the type indicated having aconical stocking form or support which is rotatable on an axis inclinedwith respect to the horizontal to position the upper portion of itsperiphery in a horizontal plane parallel to the sales counter or table,and means for moving the magnifying lens parallel to and at a desireddistance from the upper portion of the support.

Another object is to provide a device of the type indicated in which theelectrical circuit for the light source is controlled by a mercuryswitch movable with the pivoted stocking support and operative, when thesupport is moved to operative position, to close the circuit to thelight source and to open the circuit when the stocking support is movedto inoperative position.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing specification and drawings which are for the purpose ofillustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a hosiery inspection device constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device with the hosiery supportshown in section to illustrate the interior parts;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the device taken on line3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the pivotal mounting of the hosiery support andmagnifying lens;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the device taken on theline 4-4 of Fig. 2, showing the mounting for the electric illuminatingmeans;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the device taken on line5-5 of Fig. 2, illustrating the construction at the pivotal end thereof;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal view of the pivotal end of thedevice, shown part-sectional to illustrate parts of the device indetail; and

Fig. 7 is a diagram of the electrical circuit for the illuminatingmeans.

The hosiery inspection device comprises, in general, a base memberadapted to be placed on a sales counter or other flat surface; a spindlepivotally mounted on said base member and rotatably mounting a hollowconical translucent hosiery support member, said support member beingadapted to support a stocking; electric illuminating means within thesupport member and adapted to illuminate said support member to' causethe reticulated hosiery fabric to be silhouetted thereagainst; a slidepivotally mounted on said base member; and a magnifying lens'movablealong said slide to enlarge the silhouetted filaments of the hosieryfabric, saidlens being movable in a path parallel to the side of saidsupport member.

Referring to the drawings, the hosiery inspection device comprises abase member 8, constructed in the form of an inverted box-like'castingand having projecting pads or feet 9 which may besuitably fastened to atable Or the top of a sales counter. The base member 8 has spacedupstanding bearing ears l and H which are bored with alignedlaterally-extending holes for receiving a tubular pivot shaft l2provided with a central radial hole I3. The space between the bearingears l9 and II is closed by a sheet-metal cover M which may also serveas a name-plate. The ends of the pivot shaft |2 project outwardly beyondthe bearing ears I0 and II and are forced into or otherwise held insuitable holes in a' spindle member l5 and a slide mounting l6, seeFigs. 1 and 3.

The spindle member |5 consists of a rectangular body portion 1 havingits lower rearward corner l8 rounded as shown in Figs. 2 and 6 andprovided with stop faces I9 and for a purpose to be later explained.Projecting from the body portion I! of the spindle member I5 is acylindrical spindle 22 for rotatably mounting the hub 23 of a circularplate-like member 24. The member 24 has a peripheral conical rim 25which is recessed at 26 to adapt it to be received in the open end of astocking support member 28 and to be secured thereto in any suitablemanner. The stocking support member 28, which is preferably constructedfrom translucent plastic material, has its tip end or vertex closed by asemi-spherical portion 29.

The spindle 22 is provided with a reduced externally threaded extension38 upon which is carried a mounting frame member 3|. As shown in Fig. 5,the frame member 3| comprises a semicircular channel portion 32 havingan upstanding end wall 33 (Fig. 6) provided with a hole to adapt it tobe mounted on the threaded extension of the spindle 22. As shown in Fig.6, a nut 34- is threaded on the projecting end of the extension 30 andset up against the end wall 33 to clamp the frame member 3| tightlyagainst the shoulder formed between the spindle 22 and its extension. Itwill thus be apparent that the frame member 3| is fixedly mounted onthe'spindle member l5 while the plate member 24 and stocking support 28are freely rotatable on the spindle 22. The spindle member I5 isprovided with a longitudinal bore 35 for a purpose to be laterexplained.

Secured within the semi-circular portion 32 of the frame member 3| bymeans of rivets 31 is a sheet-metal reflector member 38 of semi-circularcross section, see Figs. 4 and 5. The member 38 extends longitudinallyfrom the frame member 3| throughout substantially the entire length ofthe stocking support 28 and is provided at its outer end with anabutment 39.

A pair of fluo'resce'nttubes 40 and 4| are placed in the reflectormember 38 which is made resilient to retain them in position. A doublesocket 43 is arranged between the abutting ends of the tubes 40 and 4|and the tubes have sockets 44 and 45 respectively, the socket 45 beingpositioned against the abutment 39. Held in a clip 46 fastened to theunder side of the frame member 3| is an electric switch 41 comprising aglass bulb containing a pool of mercury which is adapted to flowlongitudinally therein when the stocking support 28 is pivoted on thebase member 8.

The electric bulbs or tubes 40 and 4| and the mercury type switch 41 areconnected in an electric circuit in themanner indicated in theelectrical diagram (Fig. '7). As shown in the diagram, one lead 50 isconnected to the endmost sockets 44 and 45 while the other lead 5| isjoined to the central double socket 43. The mercury switch 41 may beconnected in the lead 5| to control the lighting of the tubes 40 and 4|.The leads 59 and 5| are preferably connected to a plug member 52 whichmay be inserted into any electric outlet receptacle. The lines 50 and 5|preferably extend upwardly through the open bottom of the base member 8and pass through the hole I3 to the interior of the tubular pivot shaftl2, thence through the bore 35 of the spindle member l5 from which pointthe lines lead to the mercury switch 41 and the various sockets of thetubes 40 and 4| to be connected thereto.

The axis of the hosiery support '28 is inclined upwardly slightly fromthe pivot shaft |2 as shown in Fig. 2 when the device is applied to usewhere-by to adapt theupper portion of its periphery to extendhorizontally. A set-screw 54 adjustably screwed into the top surface ofthe base member 8 serves-as a stop against which the face IQ of thespindle member l5 rests to maintain the hosiery support 28 in thedesired position. A second stop screw 55 projecting upwardly from thebase member 8 is engaged by the face 20 of the spindle member Hi tolimit-the upward pivot-a1 movement of the hosiery support 28 toinoperative position.

The slide mounting member -|6, previously described as connected to oneend of the pivot shaft |2, has a body portion 58, similar in outline tothe body portion I! ofthe spindle member I5. The body portion 58 isjoined to the pivot shaft and is provided with a forwardly projectingstem 59 of square cross section, see Figs. 1 and 3. A square tube 60 ofsubstantially the same length as the hosiery support 28 is connected tothe stem 59 by sliding its end thereon and securing it in place by a'pin6| as shown in Fig. 1. The square tube 68 serves as a guide member alonwhich a slide member or holder 63 is adapted to be moved. The holder 83has a square hole for receiving the slide tube 68 and an upwardlyprojecting. boss 64 which is provided with a vertical hole for receivingthe lower end of a rod 65. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the rod 65 extendsupwardly from the slide member or'holder 63 and curves'laterally tooverlie the hosiery support 28. A r'ectangular'magnifying lens 66 iscarried at the end of the" laterally extending portion of the rod 65. Anabutment 61' is-provided at the free end of the guide member 60 toprevent displace ment of the holder 63 and lens lit-from the tube.

It will be noted from' tlie drawings that the guide member 69 extendshorizontally from the pivot shaft I2 so that when-the holder 63 is slidtherealong 'lthe magnifyin g lens-66" is moved in a path parallel to theuppersurfa'ce of the conical hosiery support 28 and thus it isunnecessary to adjust the lens vertically to maintain it at a uniformdistance from the top of the support. Since the member I6 is carried bythe pivot shaft H the guide member 66 will be maintained in horizontalposition by the stop-screw 54. How-ever, to provide additional support asimilar stop-screw 61 on the base member 8 may be engaged by the lowerface of the member I 6 and a stop-screw 68 may be engaged by therearward face of the member I6 when the guide member 60 pivots upwardlywith the hosiery support 28.

The hosiery inspection device is applied to use in the manner nextexplained. Assuming that the parts of the device are in the positionshown in Fig. 2, electric current will flow through the pool of mercuryof the switch 41 to bridge the contacts of said switch to thereby supplycurrent to the fluorescent tubes 40 and 4|. A stocking, not shown, maybe slid onto the translucent hosiery support 28 and light will bedirected upwardly by the reflector member 38 to illuminate the filamentsof the meshed fabric. Sincethe knitted fabric is silhouetted against anilluminated surface the individual filaments and loops of the fabric maybe readily observed and inspected. To further facilitate the inspectionof the stocking fabric the magnifying lens 66 may be slid longitudinallyof the support 28 and the magnified fabric view therethrough. Byalternately rotating the hosiery support 28 on its spindle 22 and movingthe lens 66 longitudinally, the entire stocking may be quickly andthoroughly inspected and holes, runs, and other imperfections easilydetected and examined.

When the inspection device is not in use'the hosiery support 28,together with the guide member 60 and lens 66 may be pivoted upwardl tosubstantially vertical position as shown in Fig. 6. As the support 28approaches a vertical position the face 20 0f the spindle member 15 anda similar face of the mounting member [6 will strike the upper ends ofthe stop-screws 55 and 68 respectively to limitmovement of the parts inthis direction. During the upward movement of the parts the pool ofmercury in the switch 41 will flow away from the switch contacts to openthe electrical circuit and thus extinguish the light tubes 40 and 4|.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the present inventionprovides a novel and ingenious device for facilitating the inspection oftextile fabrics and especially reticulated hosiery fabric. The device isespecially adapted for use on the sales counters of stores and servesthe useful function of aiding the salesperson in determining the extentof imperfections present in the stockings. Since the device eliminatesguesswork, the apparent cause of such damage can be readily ascertained,and such evidence may be considered a deciding factor in determiningWhether or not the damaged hosiery should be replaced by themanufacturer or store. Thus, the use of this device effects asubstantial saving to the mill and retailer. Since the customer may alsoinspect the stockings 0n the device at the counter she will usuallyagree with the decision of the sales-person and thus the good will ofthe customer will be maintained.

The inspection device is simple in construction, being composed of fewparts which may be easily and quickly assembled thus rendering thedevice economical to manufacture. Moreover, the device is provided witha, rotatable conical hosiery support upon which stockings of varioussizes may be held and turned with the support to facilitate theirinspection. The translucent stocking support is illuminated so that theoutline of the individual loops of the reticulated fabric may be readilyobserved. To further aid in the inspection, the present device utilizesa magnifying lens for enlarging the fabric and the lens is movable alongthe stocking to hasten the inspection process. As a particular featureof improvement, the stocking support and magnifying means are pivoted ina manner to permit them to be tilted upwardly as a unit when the deviceis not in use. As another feature, means actuated by the pivotalmovement of the stocking support is provided for controlling thelighting of the support so that when the parts are moved to inoperativeposition the lights will be automatically extinguished. Furthermore, theinvention provides means for moving the magnifying lens in a pathparallel to the side of the conical stocking support so that the needfor adjusting the lens to follow the contour of the support iseliminated.

While the hosiery inspection device has been herein shown and describedas embodied in a preferred form of construction, by way of example, itis to be understood that various modifications may be made theretowithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprising: a basemember; a pivot shaft rotatable on said base member; a spindle carriedby said pivot shaft; a hollow translucent conical sup-: port membercoaxial with and rotatable on said spindle and adapted to support astocking; interengaging means on said base member and said spindleadapted to releasably retain said spindle in a position extendinglaterally from said base member and inclined at an angle disposing theupper surface of said support member horizontally; electric fluorescenttubes within said support member for illuminating said support member tocause the filaments of said stocking to be silhouetted thereagainst; aguide member carried by said pivot shaft; and optical magnifying meansmovable along said guide member and through which the filaments of saidstocking can be viewed, said guide member normally extendinghorizontally from said pivot shaft to adapt said magnifying means tomove in a path parallel to said upper surface of said support member.

2. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprisin a basemember; a spindle pivotally mounted on said base member; a conicalsupport member rotatable on said spindle and adapted to support astocking, said spindle being adapted to pivot on said base member in onedirection to position a longitudinal portion of said support memberhorizontally when the device is in use and in the opposite direction tomove said support member to substantially vertical position when saiddevice is not in use; a guide member pivotally mounted on said basemember and extending longitudinally of and in parallel relation to saidlongitudinal portion of said support member; connecting means forconnecting said spindle and said guide member for unitary pivotalmovement; stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said spindle andsaid guide member in either direction; and a magnifying lens movablealong said guide member and said portion of said support member andthrough which the filaments of said stocking can be viewed.

3. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprising: a basemember; a spindle pivotally 7 mounted on Said base member; a conicalsupport member rotatable on said spindle and adapted to support astocking, said spindle being adapted to pivot on said base member in onedirection to position the upper portion of said support memberhorizontally when the device is in use and in the opposite direction tomove said support member to substantially vertical position when saiddevice is not in use; a guide member pivotally mounted on said basemember and extending 1ongitudinally of and in parallel relation to saidupper portion of said support member; connecting means for connectingsaid spindle and said guide member for unitary pivotal movement;adjustable stop means on said base member for limiting pivotal movementof said spindle and said guide member in either direction; a holdermember adapted to be slid along said guide member; and a magnifying lenscarried by said holder member and through which the filaments of saidstocking can be viewed.

4. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprising: a basemember; a spindle pivotally mounted on said base member for movementfrom a substantially horizontal position to a substantially verticalposition; adjustable means for limiting pivotal movement of said spindlein either direction; a hollow translucent conical stocking supportmember rotatable on said spindle about its longitudinal axis; electricilluminating means carried by said spindle and arranged within saidsupport member for illuminating said support member to cause thefilaments of said stocking to be silhouetted thereagainst; an electriccircuit for said illuminating means; a switch in said circuit; and meansactuated in response to pivotal movement of said spindle to horizontalposition for closing said switch and actuated in response to pivotalmovement of said spindle to vertical position to open said switch.

5. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprising: a basemember; a spindle pivotally mounted on said base member to adapt it toassume a substantially horizontal operative position when the device isin use and to assume a substantially vertical inoperative position whenthe device is not in use; adjustable stop means for limiting pivotalmovement of said spindle in either direction; a hollow translucentconical support member rotatable on said spindle for supporting astocking; electric illuminating means carried by said spindle andarranged within said support member for illuminating said support memberto cause the filaments of said stocking to be silhouetted thereagainst;an electric circuit for said illuminating means; and a switch carried bysaid spindle and interposed in said circuit,

saidswitch having spaced contacts and a quantity of mercury flowableacross said contacts in re.- sponse to pivotal movement of said spindleto operative position to close said switch, and flowable away from saidcontacts in response to pivotal movement of said spindle to inoperativeposition to open said switch.

6. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprising: a basemember; a spindle pivotally mounted on said base member to adapt it toassume a substantially horizontal operative position when the device isin use and to assume a substantially vertical inoperative position whenthe device is not in use; adjustable stop means for limiting pivotalmovement of said spindle in either direction; a hollow translucentconical support member rotatable on said spindle for supporting astocking; a reflector member carried by said spindle and extendinglongitudinally within said support member; electric illuminating meanscarried by said reflector member for illuminating said support member tocause the filaments of said stocking tobe silhouetted thereagainst; anelectric circuit for said illuminating means; and a mercury switchcarried by said spindle and interposed in said circuit, said switchhaving spaced contacts and a quantity of mercury flowable across saidcontacts in response to pivotal movement of said spindle t0 operativeposition to close said switch, and flowable away from said contacts inresponse to pivotal movement of said spindle to inoperative position toopen said switch.

7. A device for facilitating inspection of hosiery, comprising: a basemember; a spindle connected to said base member; a conical, translucentsupport member rotatable on said spindle and adapted to support astocking slid thereonto; means disposed within said support member forilluminating said support member to cause the filaments of said stockingto be silhouetted thereagainst; a guide member connected to said basemember and projecting therefrom in parallel relation to a line ofgeneration of the conical surface of said support member; and opticalmagnifying means slidable along said guide member and through which said.silhouetted filaments can be viewed.

HENRY GILBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 983,320 Snyder Feb. 7, 19111,615,216 Cruger Jan. 25, 1927 1,723,058 Napier Aug. 6, 1929 1,728,458Verduce Sept. 17, 1929 1,877,077 Stevens Sept. 13, 1932 2,098,955Dreager Nov. 16, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 485,712Germany Nov. 5, 1929

